Cambodia Basic Education Improvement Project (WB-P508313)

Regions
  • East Asia and Pacific
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Cambodia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Aug 29, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Cambodia - Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Education and Health
  • Law and Government
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 100.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 105.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Sep 29, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Jan 13, 2025


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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the objective of this project is to improve learning outcomes in primary education.

The proposed project aims to enhance student learning outcomes in primary education. The definition of 'minimum proficiency' in reading and math will be aligned with the Global Proficiency Framework definition of minimum proficiency level in math at grade 3 and consistent with SDG 4.1.1a.

The project includes three main components.
- The first component aims to enhance children's primary school readiness and address sectoral issues. It will develop cost-effective early childcare services using models from the Community-based Childcare for Garment Factory Workers Project. The project will also establish public preschool classes in high-demand areas. To improve ECE service quality, teachers will receive training to implement the revised play-based ECE curriculum. Additionally, the project will promote parental education through awareness campaigns aligned with the new curriculum.
- The second component focuses on providing targeted support to directly enhance the learning outcomes of primary school students. Key activities include (1) introducing the "Teaching at the Right Level" (TaRL) approach, (2) implementing early grade learning programs, which consist of four core activities: scripted lesson plans, initial teacher training on how to use these scripts and new materials, development and distribution of necessary teaching and learning materials, and ongoing mentoring support to teachers by core mentors; and (3) improving the learning environment by financing the construction of additional classrooms in overcrowded schools and providing necessary facilities and equipment, such as digital tools, library books, and multi-purpose rooms.
- The third component aims to enhance MoEYS's capacity to plan, manage, and monitor its workforce in education service delivery. The proposed key activities include: (a) conducting preparatory work to support the analysis of existing systems used for providing data and policies for education staff management, to scope the meaningful activities, and map the key functions/modules; (b) modernizing HRMIS to improve data recording and availability for education staff management, focusing on teacher's distribution, and teacher's continuous professional development and career progression; and (c) strengthening the capacity of MoEYS officials to operate the modernized HRMIS.

This investment will complement national reforms and ensure the project's sustainable impact.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The overall environmental and social risk classification is Substantial. The project will be implemented nationwide, including in the north-eastern provinces which includes areas of biodiversity and Physical Cultural Resource significance. The north-eastern provinces where interventions will take place are home to a number of indigenous peoples with substantial gaps and disparities in poverty and quality of education. The project is expected to complement and build on activities already under implementation by other development partners, and an ongoing IDA project, the General Education Improvement Project (GEIP: P174335) to improve educational outcomes for beneficiary school children and teachers.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Total Project Cost: US$ 105.00 million
Early Learning Partnership: US$ 5.00 million
IDA Credit: US$ 100.00 million


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

CONTACT POINT - World Bank

Task Team Leader: Fata No
Title: Education Specialist
Email: fno@worldbank.org

TTL Contact: Lars M. Sondergaard
Job Title: Lead Economist
Email: lsondergaard@worldbank.org

TTL Contact: Tsuyoshi Fukao
Job Title: Senior Education Specialist
Email: tfukao@worldbank.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

How it works

How it works